B.S. (1966) Iowa State University
Ph.D. (1971) University of Washington (Seattle)
Fullerene, Metallofullerene and Carbon Nanotube Nanotechnology for Medical Applications, Metal Ions in Medicine and Biology, Coordination Chemistry, Radiochemistry of the Lanthanides and Actinides.
Email: durango@rice.edu
Phone: (713) 348-3268
Office: Dell Butcher Hall, 353
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Lon Wilson
Professor of Chemistry
Research Statement
Professor Wilson's research program involves bringing carbon nanotechnology to the fields of biology and medicine. The nanoparticle "building blocks" of this program are fullerenes (C60), endohedral metallofullerenes (M@C60), and ultra-short (20 nm long) single-walled carbon nanotube capsules (US-tubes). Externally, these carbon nanostructures are being chemically derivatized to make them biocompatible and cell-specific through peptide and antibody targeting. Internally, the nanostructures are being loaded with materials of medical interest for diagnostic and therapeutic medicine. Materials of interest include Fe2O3 and Gd3+ ions for magnetic resonance imaging (MRI), I2 molecules for X-ray computed tomography (CT) imaging and alpha-particle radionuclides (Ac3+-225 and At-211) for alpha-radioimmunotherapy of single-cell cancers. Cancer therapies are also being developed that take advantage of superparamagnetic nanostructures, such as Gd3+@US-tubes, that are simultaneously diagnostic (MRI-guided) and therapeutic (magnetic hyperthermia) agents in a single package. All these carbon nanostructures, with their medical cargos, are designed to be among the first intracellular agents, since the future of medicine will involve the early detection of disease at the cellular level when it is most treatable. Nanoengineered materials promise great advances in medicine, and, working with colleagues at various medical centers, our goal is to bring key, high-performance materials to the clinic as soon as possible.
Selected Publications
B. Sitharaman, X. Shi, F. Walboomers, H., Liao, V. Cuijpers, L. J. Wilson, A. G. Mikos, and J. A. Jansen "In Vivo Biocompatibility of Ultra-Short Single Walled Carbon Nanotube/Biodegradable Polymer Nanocomposites for Bone Tissue Engineering." Bone, 43 (2008): 362-370.
X. Shi, B. Sitharaman, Q. P. Pham, P. P. Spicer, J. L. Hudson, L. J. Wilson, J. M. Tour, R. M. Raphael, A. G. Mikos "In vitro cytotoxicity of single-walled carbon nanotube/biodegradable polymer nanocomposites." J. Biomed. Mater. Res. Part A, 86A (2008): 813-823.
K. B. Hartman, L. J. Wilson, M. G. Rosenblum "Detecting and Treating Cancer with Nanotechnology." Mol. Diag. Ther., 12 (2008): 1-14.
K. B. Hartman, S. Laus, R. D. Bolskar, R. Muthupillai, L. Helm, E. Toth, A. E. Merbach, and L. J. Wilson "Gadonanotubes as Ultrasensitive pH-Smart Probes for Magnetic Resonance Imaging." Nano Lett., 8 (2008): 415-419.
B. Sitharaman, T. Zakharian, A. Saraf, P. Misra, J. Ashcroft, S. Pan, Q. P. Pham, A. G. Mikos, L. J. Wilson and D. A. Engler "Water-Soluble Fullerene (C60) Derivatives as Non-Viral Gene-Delivery Vectors." Molecular Pharmaceutics, 5 (2008): 567-578.
K. B. Hartman, D. K. Hamlin, D. S. Wilbur, L. J. Wilson "211AtCl@US-tube Nanocapsules: A New Concept in Radiotherapeutic Agent Design." Small, 3 (2007): 1496-1499.
B. Sitharaman, L. A. Tran, Q. P. Pham. R. D. Bolskar, R. Muthupillai, S. D. Flamm, A. G. Mikos, L. J. Wilson "Gadofullerenes as Nanoscale Magnetic Labels for Cellular MRI." Contrast Media and Molecular Imaging, 2 (2007): 139-146.
J. M. Ashcroft, K. B. Hartman, K. R. Kissell, Y. Mackeyev, S. Pheasant, S. Young, P. A. van der Heide, A. G. Mikos and L. J. Wilson "Single-molecule I2@US-tube Nanocapsules: A New X-ray Contrast Agent Design." Adv. Mater., 19 (2007): 573-576.
Y. Mackeyev, S. Bachilo, K. B. Hartman and L. J. Wilson "The Purification of HiPCo SWCNTs with Liquid Bromine at Room Temperature." Carbon, 45 (2007): 1013-1017.
E. Toth, R. D. Bolskar, L. Helm, L. J. Wilson and A. E. Merbach "Understanding Paramagnetic Relaxation Phenomenon for Water-soluble Gadofullerenes." J. Phys. Chem. C, 111 (2007): 5633-5639.
Presentations
"Gadolinium-encapsulated Carbon Nanostructures for Cancer Theragnostics." Department of Chemistry, Fort Lewis College, Durango, Colorado. (October 17, 2008)
"Gadolinium encapsulated carbon nanostructures for biological and medical applications." Gulf Coast Consortia; Alliance for Nanohealth; Center for Protein Folding Machinery, Houston, Texas. (November 6, 2008) With Adrian Lee.
"Gadonanotubes as MRI contrast agents and more." Gordon Research Conference on In Vivo Magnetic Resonance, Andover, New Hampshire. (July 22, 2008)
"Low-Field (0.015 T) Relaxation Studies of Superparamagnetic Gadonanotubes." 2008 World Molecular Imaging Congress, Nice, France. (September 8-14, 2008) With J. Ananta, B. Sitharaman, K. B. Hartman.
"Carbon Nanotubes and Nanostructures: Medicine and Biology Symposium." 213th Spring Meeting of the Electrochemical Society, Phoenix, Arizona. (May 22, 2008)
Theses
Keith Hartman, PhD. "Ultra-short Carbon Nanotubes as Nanocapsules for Medical Imaging and Therapy." (2008).(Thesis or Dissertation Director)
Kyle Kissell, Ph.D. "Preparation of I2@SWNTs and I2@US-tubes: Synthesis and Spectroscopic Characterization of I2-loaded SWNTs for Computed Tomography Molecular Imaging." (2006).(Thesis or Dissertation Director)
Jared Ashcroft, PhD. "Immunoconjugates of Carbon Nanostructures." (2006).(Thesis or Dissertation Director)
Balaji Sitharaman, Ph.D. "Biologically-Compatible Gd@(Carbon Nanostructures) as Advanced Contrast Agents for Magnetic Resonance Imaging." (2005).(Thesis or Dissertation Director)
Awards
Distinguished Faculty Associate, Sid Richardson College. (April 24, 2006).
Distinguished Faculty Associate, Sid Richardson College. (4/19/2004).
The Outstanding Associate 2003, Sid Richardson College. (2003).
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